Gators surge past cold Diamondbacks
A student made a half-court shot during a contest at halftime of the boys basketball game between Green Valley and Desert Oasis.
The host Diamondbacks could have used her in the second half.
The Gators held Desert Oasis to 23 percent shooting from the field in the final two quarters and notched an 85-72 victory Wednesday.
Xavier Jarvis finished with 22 points and seven rebounds, and Brandon Burke added 19 points for Green Valley (3-1), which bounced back from a 10-point loss to Las Vegas on Tuesday.
“Our guards shot the lights out,” Gators coach Lorenzo Jarvis said. “We took what they gave us. If we move the ball like that, we can compete with anybody as long as we rebound and play team defense. That was a really good team effort.”
Kris Nicholas had 11 points and eight assists, and Romello Jones had 10 points and seven rebounds for the Gators. Green Valley outscored the Diamondbacks 54-24 in the middle quarters to take control.
Desert Oasis (2-2) trailed 52-42 early in the third quarter after a 3-pointer by Andrue Aguilera, but the Gators answered with a 15-0 run that featured 3-pointers by Burke, Jarvis and Nicholas to go up 67-42.
The Diamondbacks climbed within 12 points on four occasions in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t get any closer as Green Valley went 16-for-20 from the free-throw line in the fourth.
“We have a team that believes in each other and shares the ball. It’s the best passing team I think I’ve ever had at Green Valley,” said Jarvis, who is in his fifth season. “… I’m really proud of how hard they worked today.”
Desert Oasis, which struggled to get the ball inside after the first quarter, missed 23 of its 30 second-half shots, including a 3-for-19 showing from 3-point range.
Aamondae Coleman led Desert Oasis with 18 points and also had five rebounds and two blocked shots despite playing most of the second half with four fouls. Aguilera had 11 of his 14 points in the second half, and Deric Hammock supplied 12 points and five rebounds for the Diamondbacks.
